There is an ever increasing need for people to establish and maintain accounts online. Remote user access to an online system, account or website usually requires the establishment and use of both a user name and a password. A conventional log-in requires two factors of authentication, based on the user name and the password.
Users are therefore required to manage and remember or in some way securely retain a large number of passwords.
It is common wisdom that users should maintain unique passwords for each of their accounts, and change them often, such as based on time or perceived security threats. As well, it is desired that online passwords be reasonably complex, to improve protection from hacking.
Users often forget a password for one of their accounts, which requires that they take the time to reestablish a new password, often by sending a request, and/or by answering security questions, for which they have previously provided answers, and for which they often have also forgotten.
Furthermore, the sheer number of passwords, along with their complexity and shelf life, is problematic, and even knowledgeable users often fail to update their passwords in a timely manner, and often use the same password for different accounts.
Online passwords are therefore very time-consuming and inefficient, from the perspective of the user, who may be in a hurry to access a system, website, or account.